Tree City USA recertification, Growth Award bestowed on Malmstrom

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  • By 341st Space Wing Public Affairs Office personnel
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Malmstrom was awarded Tree City USA recertification for the 15th consecutive year, as well as the Tree City USA Growth Award at the Environmental Safety and Occupational Health Council meeting April 26. 

Lt. Col. Timothy Dodge, 341st Civil Engineer Squadron, was present to receive the award from James Kirby, United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 

Tree City USA is a program that started in 1976 as a Bicentennial project sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters, according to Rudy Verzuh, environmental engineer with the 341st Civil Engineer Squadron. The program was designed to recognize towns and cities throughout the country that develop comprehensive urban forestry programs, he added. 

In order to become designated as a Tree City USA, four standards must be met. The standards were established by the National Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters and they include: 

· Establishing a tree board or department; 

· Maintaining a tree care ordinance; 

· Having a comprehensive community forestry program; and 

· Issuing an Arbor Day observance and proclamation. 

These standards ensure that every qualifying community has a viable tree management plan and program, and were designed so that no community would be excluded because of size, according to officials at the National Arbor Day Foundation. 

Landscaping standards are part of Malmstrom's General Plan - a leadership tool outlining goals, standards and limitations for future work on the installation - and they serve as the second certification requirement. They also stipulate the types and kinds of trees that meet the criteria for this area, such as aesthetics, water requirements and suitability to the climate. 

"Our community forestry program includes the irrigation and maintenance of existing trees and landscaping, as well as introducing new ones," Mr. Verzuh said. Last year, more than 200 new trees were planted at a cost of more than $33,000, well over the $2 per capital minimum required for the Tree City USA award, he said. These costs are figured into the overall price of construction projects and planting takes place in conjunction with them, according to Mr. Verzuh. 

This is the first year Malmstrom has been awarded the Tree City USA Growth Award.
"We qualified for the Growth Award this year mainly because we went above and beyond to bolster the habitat for American Kestrels, a small bird of prey, also known as a sparrow hawk," said 1st Lt. Crystal Brown, 341st CES. "We have put up nest boxes around base for the sparrow hawks as they help take care of our woodpecker problem on base by preying on the woodpecker's young."

Malmstrom received the growth award by taking community forestry programs to the next level through environmental tree care improvements.

"Along with the nest boxes for the American Kestrels, many things have been done this year to improve our program," Mr. Verzuh said. "Some of the other improvements include revising our installation natural resources management plan, which includes plans for establishing sustainable urban forests, and new tree planting projects as part of new base housing areas." 

For more information about the Tree City USA program, go to the National Arbor Day Foundation Web site at www.arborday.org.